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Vegetable Gardening

Rhubarb and asparagus (grown from seed) are up!

13 years ago

I know nobody knows me (I'm mostly a lurker), but I'm so excited I had to share. I planted rhubarb and asparagus from seed last spring, and we moved a few months later. I dug up them up and planted them in the new garden last fall. I've been crossing my fingers all winter that I didn't damage them too much.

I noticed a shriveled yellow leaf in the bed, and it was rhubarb! Then I noticed the half-inch white point poking up...asparagus!

So if anyone's interested, it's ridiculously easy to grow both rhubarb and asparagus from seed. I've heard that they won't be as good as those from roots/crowns, but it was certainly cheaper. And "not as good" is better than none!

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Comments (5)

lavender_lass
13 years ago
Ajourni- That's so good to see! I'm planning to plant asparagus seeds this spring (purple and green) so I'm hoping to get a good crop. It may take a little longer, but that's okay, since I'm still working on the garden spaces. I plan to transplant the small asparagus to a bigger bed, this fall. Thanks for the positive feedback! :)
macky77
13 years ago
Congrats, ajourni! I grew my entire asparagus patch from seed as well. :) Crowns are just what happens as your seeded plants grow; the quality of the spear is no different. Buying crowns is like buying bedding plants... someone else just raised the seed to that stage for you.

Now rhubarb from seed is something I've never done. It will be interesting to see how it matures! Good work!
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Wow, I'm new to Garden Web and excited to find a thread so exactly on topic for me, I was looking for help in figuring out how deep raised beds will have to be for rhubarb and aspargus as well as other insights to growing them by this method. It seems like an old thread though so I'll see if anyone answers. Also seems to be a bit of attitude going on here, the first I've seen in the garden web-hopefully the last. Anyway I am finally buying a house and swore that I would plant these two crops, rhubarb and aspargues, as soon as I was a home owner, because they take so long to establish. The home I am buying has a concrete RV pad in the side yard with full sun. So my first contact with the garden web was results on a query to whether I could build raise beds right on the pad. The answer was yes and there were great pictures of other folks beds made of used concrete blocks-satisfying all my criteria including going with surplus materials. So I am very happy to have found you all and this terrific resource. I need to figure out how to get in a more current thread though. I'm looking forward to dishing dirt (garden soil) with y'all. Hoping someone can help me out with the question of how deep the beds need to be. Thanks-Hatzi
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ajourni
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks to both of you! I've attempted to link to the picture, but it's the first time in a LONG time I've tried.

At first, I actually thought it was either a stray from the compost pile or "dog vomit slime mold." (There actually is such thing!)
ajourni
Original Author
13 years ago
Well, that didn't work. *Sigh. I'll try one more time.

{{gwi:38143}}
ikea_gw
13 years ago
I am also growing rhubarb from seed. I got some free Victoria rhubarb seeds and planted about 10 indoors in February. Only two germinated but both now have 3 leaves and red stems! They are outside in small pots and don't seem to mind the near freezing weather we had recently.

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